January 2019

News

f-cell – Back to the Roots
In 18 years of managing the f-cell show, its organizers have seen many trends, and businesses, come and go. Some companies that used to exhibit at the event no longer exist. Some of the speakers at past events have worked for multiple employers in the meantime. And before last year’s decision to move back to … Read more

Good and Bad News from Ballard Power
Ballard (Nasdaq: BLDP) had its very own October surprise, which caused the stock to take a nosedive. Though worse than expected, the USD 0.03 net loss per share and revenues of as little as USD 21.6 million weren’t to blame for the slump. Neither was the company’s low cash level of USD 23.2 million, reduced … Read more

Power Plant Deals by FuelCell Energy
Power purchase agreements are a central part of FuelCell Energy’s new corporate strategy. These agreements allow for long-term community purchases of electricity and energy. Not too long ago, the company concluded several contracts to that effect. One example is a 14.8-megawatt site in Derby, Connecticut. Meanwhile, it has been adding fuel cell power plants to … Read more

The Ups and Downs of Hydrogenics
Hydrogenics (Nasdaq: HYGS) seems to be facing similar headwinds in China, mostly with regard to funding, bid requests and grant approval. It said the country offered excellent prospects; everything was just moving along a bit more slowly than expected. At the very least, backlog at Hydrogenics added up to USD 132 million, more than half … Read more

New Funds Secured by Plug Power
Considering the many possible uses of fuel cells, the market for them won’t go up in a straight line. Nor will the large-scale production of cheap renewable hydrogen be a goal that can be accomplished overnight. Still, new hydrogen fueling stations will be added at a steady pace, and it will only be a matter … Read more

The Rollercoaster That Is Tesla
The sky’s the limit, you might have been thinking, when Tesla’s stock jumped from USD 240 to about USD 340 in few days. On Oct. 23, 2018, a short while before the company said that it would preschedule the publication of third-quarter results, a well-known short seller named Andrew Left, of Citron Research, changed his … Read more

Economy Ministry Supports Hydrogen Clusters
Following a three-year break, the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology held another NIP General Assembly between Dec. 5 and 6 last year. About 400 people came to Berlin to catch up on the latest developments regarding the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, also known as NIP 2, or provide others … Read more

Double the eMove360° Experience
On Oct. 16, 2018, the eMove360° show in Munich was no longer an event that attracted mainly fans of battery-powered vehicles. For the first time, it featured a conference on fuel cell cars, attended by around three dozen people. However, the main question during this eMove360° Fuel Cell Conference, which took place at the same … Read more

Reap Wind Power, Fill Up Hydrogen
Plans are becoming more concrete in Germany’s northernmost region, where communities are rapidly taking the lead in the production of renewable hydrogen and the creation a future-proof transportation system co-designed by citizens. In March 2017, project company GP Joule, based in Reußenköge, Germany, published a feasibility study to show what this renewable system could look … Read more

Linde Invests in Hydrogen
Industrial gases producer Linde has a new hydrogen production system in Leuna, providing more evidence of the company’s shift in strategic focus. On Oct. 24, 2018, Linde announced that it would add another hydrogen liquefier to its chemical manufacturing facilities in Saxony-Anhalt. The unit, scheduled to come online in 2021, would double production capacity to … Read more

Kühn Tries His Luck with kraftwerk TUBES
Many German fuel cell fans are still angry at Sascha Kühn, mostly not because his company’s kraftwerk fuel cell charger has yet to be delivered but because Kühn has practically disappeared from the public eye. Months have passed since there was some kind of statement about if and how the original idea of manufacturing small … Read more

SFC Enters Hydrogen Market
SFC Energy, which has so far focused on methanol-powered fuel cells, intends to branch out into the hydrogen fuel market. In November 2018, the company based in Brunnthal, Germany, announced that it had signed an agreement with adKor to develop and license the required fuel cell know-how. The deal reached with adKor’s chief executive, Hartmut … Read more

GP Joule Shuts Down H-Tec Education
December 31 last year was the date on which work at H-Tec Education officially ended. Still, the Fuel Cell Store (fuelcellstore.com) will continue the brand, as well as production, distribution and customer service. However, it was reported that, following the decision, 13 employees had been let go. … Read more

ETC Swears by Hydrogen
UK-based Enrichment Technology Company, or ETC for short, has decided to split its German E&MS subsidiary into two: On Sept. 27, 2018, it announced separate contact numbers for the new companies located in Jülich, where Nproxx Jülich has been put in charge of constructing hydrogen tanks, while Pronexos will manufacture carbon-fiber composites and rollers, among … Read more

ElringKlinger Divests SOFC Business
Automotive supplier ElringKlinger has divested its department that manufactured solid oxide fuel cell, or SOFC, systems. In September 2018, the business based in Dettingen, Germany, announced that it would focus on low-temperature fuel cells used in vehicles. It sold SOFC operations, and its assets in new enerday, headquartered in Neubrandenburg, to Dresden-based Sunfire. … Read more

Focus on business topics, storage applications and mobility infrastructure

ENERGY STORAGE EUROPE is the trade fair for the global energy storage industry with a focus on applications and energy systems. The parallel international conferences offer the world’s largest conference program for all energy storage technologies. They include the 8th ENERGY STORAGE EUROPE Conference (ESE) of Messe Düsseldorf and the 13th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES) of EUROSOLAR e.V. In 2018, the fair grew to around 4,500 visitors from 61 countries with 170 exhibitors.